Hello all, it's been quite a while since I've been on the forum... My little Trabant went on to pastures new, but I thought I'd share one of my other Retro Rides... My 1990 Alfa 33. The successor to the Alfasud, this forgotten car of the 80's is a bit of an unusual one. Flat four engine, longitudinally mounted, but front wheel drive, twin Dellorto 36mm or 40mm carbs, neat handling and fag paper weight (and build quality) means it's an interesting little car. This is a series 2 Cloverleaf model, meaning it's technically an 80's hot hatch, although exceptionally rare now 
. Here's a quick video of her sound when she was running well...
I'm moving into my 12th year of owning my little 33. We've had our up's and down's, and as with a lot of projects, sometimes life and all it has to throw at you keeps insisting on getting in the way.
The day I went to see the little 33 and test drove her I fell in love and she became a big part of my life. I took her to shows and spent every spare minute fettling and improving her. Then somewhere along the way life caught up and she had to take a back seat for a while. In 2013 I set about getting her back up and running, I cleaned her up, got her MOT'd and started using her again. Then one day she overheated, and with the nature of it, I suspected one of the head gaskets had went. I tucked her back into the lockup with the intention of putting her right... But she sat forlorn in my lockup for nearly 6 (God has it been that long!?) years. The lockup started to let in water sometime last year, and on a chance visit a few months ago, I could see the damp had taken it's toll.
I moved house last year and now I have a garage here at home. We had some things to do to the house, and I wanted to get the garage in shape because I know I just had to get my little Alfa up so I could start the long process of returning her to her former glory. So, last week...
I dug her out, with the help of Fiat space savers
and then;
I hooked her up to my A-Frame, and, with the help of my dad, we began the 7 mile journey to her new home.
Getting her into the driveway and lined up the garage was a good feeling. After a quick wash, she was in safe,
Then some poking around,
As you can see, the dampness done a bit of a number on the shiny bits... The carbs were off the car and stored in a box. I don't have a photo of them, but they're pretty goosed. Luckily, I had another set of Dellorto 40's in a sealed box that, with a little love, will easily go back into service. I'll repair the dampened ones over the course of time.
Now this is where she is sat after a days work investigating...
I've taken the decision to remove the engine and box. I figured if one of the head gaskets has gone right enough, then it needs to come out anyway. But I can do a much better job of cleaning, repairing, painting and replacing things if they're out the car. The heart is ready to remove, just waiting on an engine stand coming and I'll whip em out.
I'll be replacing bits as I go, obviously all the ignition stuff, coolant hoses and clamps etc. She need a new radiator, possibly a new starter, the clutch was starting to slip last time out, new water pump, belts, tensioners... all that jazz.
I have a replacement gearbox from a 145 to go in (the original 33/Alfasud units have comically weak 2nd gear synchros, the 145 is much stronger and has slightly better ratios) Luckily, I also have an engine and gearbox machine shop just around the corner from me, and I'll enlist their help when needs be.
I really am determined this time to do it right, I have the space, some equipment and now more resources than before to actually see it through. It's not going to be quick, but I hope it's going to be good, She deserves it. I'll be keeping you all posted as much as possible and mining the resources of the forum for sure.
Wish me luck!
Scott.
. Here's a quick video of her sound when she was running well...I'm moving into my 12th year of owning my little 33. We've had our up's and down's, and as with a lot of projects, sometimes life and all it has to throw at you keeps insisting on getting in the way.
The day I went to see the little 33 and test drove her I fell in love and she became a big part of my life. I took her to shows and spent every spare minute fettling and improving her. Then somewhere along the way life caught up and she had to take a back seat for a while. In 2013 I set about getting her back up and running, I cleaned her up, got her MOT'd and started using her again. Then one day she overheated, and with the nature of it, I suspected one of the head gaskets had went. I tucked her back into the lockup with the intention of putting her right... But she sat forlorn in my lockup for nearly 6 (God has it been that long!?) years. The lockup started to let in water sometime last year, and on a chance visit a few months ago, I could see the damp had taken it's toll.
I moved house last year and now I have a garage here at home. We had some things to do to the house, and I wanted to get the garage in shape because I know I just had to get my little Alfa up so I could start the long process of returning her to her former glory. So, last week...
I dug her out, with the help of Fiat space savers
and then;I hooked her up to my A-Frame, and, with the help of my dad, we began the 7 mile journey to her new home.
Getting her into the driveway and lined up the garage was a good feeling. After a quick wash, she was in safe,
Then some poking around,
As you can see, the dampness done a bit of a number on the shiny bits... The carbs were off the car and stored in a box. I don't have a photo of them, but they're pretty goosed. Luckily, I had another set of Dellorto 40's in a sealed box that, with a little love, will easily go back into service. I'll repair the dampened ones over the course of time.
Now this is where she is sat after a days work investigating...
I've taken the decision to remove the engine and box. I figured if one of the head gaskets has gone right enough, then it needs to come out anyway. But I can do a much better job of cleaning, repairing, painting and replacing things if they're out the car. The heart is ready to remove, just waiting on an engine stand coming and I'll whip em out.
I'll be replacing bits as I go, obviously all the ignition stuff, coolant hoses and clamps etc. She need a new radiator, possibly a new starter, the clutch was starting to slip last time out, new water pump, belts, tensioners... all that jazz.
I have a replacement gearbox from a 145 to go in (the original 33/Alfasud units have comically weak 2nd gear synchros, the 145 is much stronger and has slightly better ratios) Luckily, I also have an engine and gearbox machine shop just around the corner from me, and I'll enlist their help when needs be.
I really am determined this time to do it right, I have the space, some equipment and now more resources than before to actually see it through. It's not going to be quick, but I hope it's going to be good, She deserves it. I'll be keeping you all posted as much as possible and mining the resources of the forum for sure.
Wish me luck!
Scott.
